Eco-purses: These retreads are no one's seconds

Eco-purses: These retreads are no one's seconds

By Chelsea Steinkamp Special to Green Right Now Calling all fashionistas. With the holiday season approaching, what better way to celebrate than to treat yourself, or an amazing friend, to...

By Chelsea Steinkamp
Special to Green Right Now

Calling all fashionistas. With the holiday season approaching, what better way to celebrate than to treat yourself, or an amazing friend, to one of these trendy and more importantly, eco-friendly purses? Over the past few years, more and more fashion designers have been jumping on the green bandwagon by creating purses made from car and bike inner-tube parts. The bags that we stumbled upon below are chic and reasonably priced.

Coupe Luxe:

Meet the Coupe Luxe. If you thought the shoulder strap on this bag looked a tad bit familiar, you aren’t going crazy. It is in fact a seatbelt. The Coupe Luxe is designed to be worn across your body, making a fabulous everyday accessory. Not only is this bag stylish but also the price tag isn’t going to break the bank. We found this purse on the English Retreads website, a Boulder, Colorado based company devoted to ”saving the planet in style.” The Coupe Luxe is priced at $58 with free shipping and can be purchased straight from the English Retreads website. Check them out and see what other customers who purchased the Coupe Luxe had to say.

Keep Safe Bag:

The seatbelt trend doesn’t stop there. If you are feeling bold and want to make a statement, then this funky messenger bag is probably the one for you. The Keep Safe Bag is made from recycled seatbelts straight from the junkyard. This messenger bag is equipped with an extra pocket under the front flap intended for a cell, keys or whatever gadgets you like to stuff in your purse! The trim is made from used bike inner-tubes so you can count on durability. The Keep Safe Bag is made by an eco-friendly company called Urchin Bags that constructs all of their products from 98 percent recycled materials, such as reclaimed car seat belts, used bike inner-tubes, scrap vinyl, old banners and boating materials.

The Keep Safe Bag is priced at $119 and can be found on the Etsy website along with other Urchin Bag merchandise.

Recycled Bike Tube Purse:

Have you ever come across a waterproof purse before? We sure haven’t! This sleek and roomy purse is made out of recycled bike tubes and the best part is that it’s waterproof so spill away! (Well maybe don’t go too crazy.) What’s nifty about this number is you even have the option of selecting a color for the bag’s interior. Vaya Bags, a New York City based company, specializes in creating fashionable, environmentally friendly gear at an affordable price. The Recycled Bike Tube Purse is listed for $89 and can be purchased from the Vaya Bags website. We loved the rest of what Vaya Bags had to offer so check out their full line of merchandise on the Vaya Bags website, as well as on Etsy.

(Chelsea Steinkamp is a journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz.)

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